[ChuckElias]

Butch!!!!!! Long time, no see, man. Missed you at 5-Star this summer.

Actuary, it's good that you recognize that you lost your cool. Next step is to figure out how not to do it again. The first part is to recognize when it's appropriate to give a technical foul and the to give it. If somebody yells "FOUL!" in your face, that requires a technical foul at any level. It's not something that you can let slide. Why? B/c if you don't call it, you have told everyone else that they get one free shot to yell at you. Recognize the technical foul situation and then call it.

The second part is be able to call this just any other foul. Turn to the table, blow the whistle and calmly make the T signal. Do not raise the tension by "whacking" the guy in his face. This is the hard part. B/c you really want to stick it in his mug. You hear about other guys doing it and how good it felt. But don't.

Finally, you asked "Am I really gaining useful experience by volunteering my time in this league? Or is this "one-man crew" experience bad for a beginning official?"

Only you can answer the first question. My only answer is that it's certainly not the best experience you could be getting. But you're still seeing plays, you're still interacting with coaches, and hopefully, you're still working on your mechanics. So you can get something out it, but it's not the best way to get experience, IMHO.

Good luck this week.